Charity House And Attached Walls

Charity House, originally a girls' school, dates back to 1712. It is constructed of squared coursed ironstone and features a plain-tile roof. The building is likely based on a four-unit plan and has two storeys, an attic, and a cellar, with a seven-window range. The central door, from the 19th century, is made of planks and has a moulded stone surround with a segmental pediment and a central cartouche. The windows are primarily 19th or 20th-century wooden mullion and transom cross windows, set in original openings beneath wooden lintels. To the left, there is a two-light wooden mullion cellar window. The building also has a pair of flat-topped stone dormer windows with 19th-century casements. The gable parapets and kneelers are made of ashlar, with stone stacks at the ridge and ends. Above the door, there is an inscription that reads, "The charity school for girls Anne Dom 1712." The rear of the building is similar, featuring a four-light wooden mullion and transom staircase window with stained glass. Inside, there is an 18th-century staircase with a barley twist balustrade, and a room to the right of the entrance has an open fireplace with a bressumer. Attached ironstone walls enclose a small front garden and are connected by central cast-iron gates. The building was endowed as a school for girls by Sir Gilbert Dolben.